Dalbergia odorifera, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases in China for thousands of years. Flavonoids are major active compounds in D. odorifera. In this paper, a rapid and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 17 flavonoids in D. odorifera. Quantification was performed by multiple reaction monitoring using electrospray ionization in negative ion mode. Under the optimum conditions, calibration curves for the 17 analytes displayed good linearity (r² > 0.9980). The intra- and inter-day precisions (relative standard deviations) were lower than 5.0%. The limit of quantitation ranged from 0.256 to 18.840 ng/mL. The mean recovery range at three spiked concentrations was 94.18–101.97%. The validated approach was successfully applied to 18 samples of D. odorifera. Large variation was observed for the contents of the 17 analytes. Sativanone and 3′-O-methylviolanone were the dominant compounds. The fragmentation behaviors of six flavonoids were investigated using UPLC with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. In negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, all the flavonoids yielded prominent [M − H]⁻ ions. Fragments for losses of CH₃, CO, and CO₂ were observed in the mass spectra. Formononetin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, sativanone, and alpinetin underwent retro-Diels–Alder fragmentations. The proposed method will be helpful for quality control of D. odorifera.

Plant metabolites are the components endowing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with therapeutic effects, and, simultaneously, they are the primary targets for quality control. From germplasm selection and origin determination to field management, growth duration, harvesting and processing, and, finally, storage and transportation, each step profoundly influences TCM quality. The complexity of these plant or herb metabolites poses numerous quality control challenges. Metabolomics, as a comprehensive and systematic approach, has demonstrated value in this field. This technique not only meets the requirements for studying the complex mechanisms of TCM but also has significant advantages in identifying the TCM components, including active components. Therefore, in this article, several key factors affecting the chemical characteristics and quality traits of TCM, including their origin, harvesting period, medicinal parts, and processing methods, are researched. Additionally, the current challenges of integrating metabolomics with other omics technologies (transcriptomics, spatial metabolomics, etc.) are discussed. Furthermore, a future development trends and prospects are highlighted. With the continuous deepening of research and ongoing updates in technological capabilities, metabolomics will play an increasingly important role in the quality control of TCM, providing more scientific and robust support for quality assurance and safety evaluation.

Morinda officinalis is an important herbal medicine and functional food, and its main constituents include anthraquinone and iridoid glycosides. Quantification of the main compounds is a necessary step to understand the quality and therapeutic properties of M. officinalis, but this has not yet been performed based on liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Analytes were extracted from M. officinalis by reflux method. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was applied for quantification. Fragmentation pathways of deacetyl asperulosidic acid and rubiadin were investigated based on UPLC with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q/TOF-MS) in the MS^E centroid mode. The method showed a good linearity over a wide concentration range (R² ≥ 0.9930). The limits of quantification of six compounds ranged from 2.6 to 27.57 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions of the investigated components exhibited an RSD within 4.5% with mean recovery rates of 95.32–99.86%. Contents of selected compounds in M. officinalis varied significantly depending on region. The fragmentation pathway of deacetyl asperulosidic and rubiadin was proposed. A selective and sensitive method was developed for determining six target compounds in M. officinalis by UPLC-MS/MS. Furthermore, the proposed method will be helpful for quality control and identification main compounds of M. officinalis.